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Below is a quotation from the actual Stephenson experiment which found some of the above to be true, but the 'beating up' never took place.
"Stephenson (1967) trained adult male and female rhesus monkeys to avoid manipulating an object and then placed individual naïve animals in a cage with a trained individual of the same age and sex and the object in question. In one case, a trained male actually pulled his naïve partner away from the previously punished manipulandum during their period of interaction, whereas the other two trained males exhibited what were described as "threat facial expressions while in a fear posture" when a naïve animal approached the manipulandum. When placed alone in the cage with the novel object, naïve males that had been paired with trained males showed greatly reduced manipulation of the training object in comparison with controls. Unfortunately, training and testing were not carried out using a discrimination procedure so the nature of the transmitted information cannot be determined, but the data are of considerable interest."
There was nothing to suggest mob mentality passed on to the naive monkeys at all. Therefore if the experiment was repeated exactly as above, I think we'd find monkeys were more capable of rational thought than many humans.

Below is a quotation from the actual Stephenson experiment which found some of the above to be true, but the 'beating up' never took place.
"Stephenson (1967) trained adult male and female rhesus monkeys to avoid manipulating an object and then placed individual naïve animals in a cage with a trained individual of the same age and sex and the object in question. In one case, a trained male actually pulled his naïve partner away from the previously punished manipulandum during their period of interaction, whereas the other two trained males exhibited what were described as "threat facial expressions while in a fear posture" when a naïve animal approached the manipulandum. When placed alone in the cage with the novel object, naïve males that had been paired with trained males showed greatly reduced manipulation of the training object in comparison with controls. Unfortunately, training and testing were not carried out using a discrimination procedure so the nature of the transmitted information cannot be determined, but the data are of considerable interest."
There was nothing to suggest mob mentality passed on to the naive monkeys at all. Therefore if the experiment was repeated exactly as above, I think we'd find monkeys were more capable of rational thought than many humans.

Nonsense! - What would happen is that eventually, one monkey would wait, till the others fell asleep and then run for the banana. Even if they awoke with the water-spray, the monkey would continue to get the banana. GET REAL! - People have been stepping over each other, to get what they want! The monkeys are no better.

Nonsense! - What would happen is that eventually, one monkey would wait, till the others fell asleep and then run for the banana. Even if they awoke with the water-spray, the monkey would continue to get the banana. GET REAL! - People have been stepping over each other, to get what they want! The monkeys are no better.

Isn't that like the infinite monkey theorem which was tested with a finite number of monkeys to see how long it would take to produce the work of Shakespeare? Not only did the monkeys produce nothing but five pages consisting largely of the letter S, the lead male began by bashing the keyboard with a stone, and the monkeys continued by urinating and defecating on it... it's been confirmed this would never work...

Isn't that like the infinite monkey theorem which was tested with a finite number of monkeys to see how long it would take to produce the work of Shakespeare? Not only did the monkeys produce nothing but five pages consisting largely of the letter S, the lead male began by bashing the keyboard with a stone, and the monkeys continued by urinating and defecating on it... it's been confirmed this would never work...

Very Misleading!
The monkeys do not know that the cold spray is disabled (the game has changed). It is 100% rational to use as a rule of thumb, the previous learnings of society/forefathers/etc. It is only irrational to do so if there is evidence that the game has changed. Instead of a cold spray of water, substitute "chemical weapon deployment". Unless the laws of chemistry/biology fundamentally change, it is in the best interest of all members of society to prevent an upstart from attempting to deploy such a weapon.

Very Misleading!
The monkeys do not know that the cold spray is disabled (the game has changed). It is 100% rational to use as a rule of thumb, the previous learnings of society/forefathers/etc. It is only irrational to do so if there is evidence that the game has changed. Instead of a cold spray of water, substitute "chemical weapon deployment". Unless the laws of chemistry/biology fundamentally change, it is in the best interest of all members of society to prevent an upstart from attempting to deploy such a weapon.

The point is that it no longer matters whether there is a cold spray (enforcement) or not, as the monkeys do their own "enforcement" in orer to prevent the punishment of all for the crime of one. The new generation oesn't even know what the original punishment was, they only know they get gang beaten if they go for the prize. They end up no better than a bucket full of crabs.

The point is that it no longer matters whether there is a cold spray (enforcement) or not, as the monkeys do their own "enforcement" in orer to prevent the punishment of all for the crime of one. The new generation oesn't even know what the original punishment was, they only know they get gang beaten if they go for the prize. They end up no better than a bucket full of crabs.

So.. Since no one has used a nuclear bomb in war in the lifetime of President Barack Obama.. he should flout international law, and try it himself on afghanistan, just to make sure it is still as bad as everyone in society thinks it is? Who knows, the laws of physics may have changed and it may not have the same effect as it did in 1945.

So.. Since no one has used a nuclear bomb in war in the lifetime of President Barack Obama.. he should flout international law, and try it himself on afghanistan, just to make sure it is still as bad as everyone in society thinks it is? Who knows, the laws of physics may have changed and it may not have the same effect as it did in 1945.

What cold spray? After all monkeys have been replaced, no-one knows there ever was a spray. Seems to me this experiment demonstrates cultural superstition, and why it is a good idea to challenge authority.

What cold spray? After all monkeys have been replaced, no-one knows there ever was a spray. Seems to me this experiment demonstrates cultural superstition, and why it is a good idea to challenge authority.